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Evolving Business Models for Renewable Energy: 2014 Industry Review EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2014 INDUSTRY REVIEW EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2014 INDUSTRY REVIEW JUNE 2014 AMERICAN COUNCIL ON RENEWABLE ENERGY (ACORE) ACORE, a 501(c)(3) non‐profit membership organization, is dedicated to building a secure and prosperous America with clean, renewable energy. ACORE seeks to advance renewable energy through finance, policy, technology, and market development and is concentrating its member focus in 2014 on National Defense & Security, Power Generation & Infrastructure, and Transportation. Additional information is available at: www.acore.org POWER GENERATION & INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE Power Generation & Infrastructure Initiative brings together leaders from the utility, business, investment, regulatory, public and non‐profit sectors to: (1) examine the challenges, opportunities and appropriate strategies related to the expanded use and effective integration of renewable energy in the power generation sector; and (2) explore 21st century business models that will allow for this renewable energy scale‐up. Additional information is available at: www.acore.org/programs/member‐initiatives/power‐generation COPYRIGHT © 2014 ACORE All Rights Reserved under U.S. and foreign law, treaties, and conventions. This work cannot be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner or pursuant to the License below: Published by: American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) 1600 K St. NW, Suite 650 Washington, DC 20006 202.393.0001 Questions or Comments: [email protected] 1 American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2014 INDUSTRY REVIEW POWER GENERATION & INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AUTHORS ACORE Abengoa Solar American Clean Energy RES Americas Todd Foley, James Hewett, Paper Co‐Authored by Steve Morgan Shalini Ramanathan Lesley Hunter, and Concentrating Solar Power Michael Brower Alliance and Perkins Coie LLP Fred Morse (Abengoa), Kate Maracas, Frank (Tex) Wilkins, and Arthur Haubenstock Scott Madden, Inc. Siemens Smart Grid Sullivan & Worcester LLP Chris Vlahoplus, Cristin Lyons, Services Jim Wrathall, Elias Hinckley and Paul Quinlan Chris King and John Frenkil POWER GENERATION & INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE SPONSORS 2 American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2014 INDUSTRY REVIEW TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 4 Evolving Business Models for Renewable Energy ..................................................................... 5 Renewable Energy Drivers of Change and Overview of Actions from the Utility Perspective, Scott Madden, Inc. .............................................................................................................................. 5 Distributed Energy: Understanding and Mitigating Commercial and Regulatory Risks, Sullivan & Worcester, LLP ................................................................................................................. 11 Revisiting the Electricity System: Leveraging Distributed Generation, American Clean Energy .......... 15 Role of Industrial and Commercial Energy Users in Changing Utility Business Models, RES Americas ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Market Spotlights .................................................................................................................. 24 Grid Integration Challenges and the Role of Concentrating Solar Power, Concentrating Solar Power Alliance, Perkins Coie, LLP and Abengoa Solar ..................................................................... 24 Electric Vehicles: Flexibility, Creativity, and Profit Potential for Utilities, Siemens Smart Grid Services ...................................................................................................................................... 28 3 American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2014 INDUSTRY REVIEW EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Renewable energy continues to grow as a share of challenges, opportunities and appropriate strategies our nation’s overall electricity portfolio, now related to the expanded use and effective responsible for 14% of total U.S. power generation. integration of renewable energy in the power A combination of private sector ingenuity, generation sector; and (2) explores 21st century investment and government policy certainty have business models that will allow for this renewable driven significant cost reductions, technology energy scale up. improvements, and scale up of the renewable energy industry over the past several years. In 2013, PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT nearly 40% of all new U.S. electricity generating This Industry Review explores key issues and capacity came from renewable energy. provides recommendations related to the evolving At the same time, developments in natural gas power sector and increased use of renewable extraction offer game‐changing, but highly water‐ energy, particularly related to distributed generation intensive opportunities; stringent environmental and the effective integration of advanced grid standards raise performance requirements; the technologies such as smart grids and microgrids. This central coal and nuclear generation fleet is rapidly report provides a series of industry perspectives with aging, foretelling a very costly replacement scenario; useful analysis, data, and insight for renewable and the transmission and distribution systems energy and utility stakeholders, including: require expansion and upgrade. An updated policy Insight into how distributed generation and framework and significant capital investment are advanced grid technologies are changing the required to modernize the power generation sector power generation sector and traditional utility and assure reliable service. Technological business models innovations, regional differences in resource availability, the changing nature of customer Suggested outcomes for the successful relations and use patterns, emerging financing integration of renewable energy at scale structures, the electrification of the transportation sector, and a murky policy certainty outlook present Spotlights on how CSP and EVs are changing the challenges and opportunities for this sector. way utilities look at generation, integration, and storage Building on the considerable progress power generation companies across the U.S. are making to A group of prominent renewable energy developers, integrate renewable energy, ACORE’s Power professional service firms, energy service companies, Generation and Infrastructure Initiative brings and other groups authored the six articles in this together leaders from the utility, business and Review. investment, regulatory, public, and non‐profit sectors to define a viable architecture for the scale The views and opinions expressed in this report are up and systems integration of renewable energy those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect resources. The collaboration: (1) examines the the views of ACORE. 4 American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2014 INDUSTRY REVIEW RENEWABLE ENERGY DRIVERS OF CHANGE AND OVERVIEW OF ACTIONS FROM THE UTILITY PERSPECTIVE Chris Vlahoplus, Cristin Lyons, and Paul Quinlan Scott Madden, Inc. Renewable generation resources, coupled with the Initiatives Task Force (EITF), have taken a innovation of enabling technology on the conservative approach to state regulatory risk by distribution grid, are creating the potential for including requirements in requests for proposals disruptive change for electric utilities. While utility‐ (RFPs) that the bidder comply with all state utility scale renewable strategies can be similar to laws. Understanding the nuances of state regulation traditional utility‐scale generation (i.e., large‐scale may provide an opportunity for power purchase assets with purchase power agreements (PPAs)), the agreements (PPAs) to be executed that might utility business model may face significant changes otherwise not be considered readily feasible. from customer‐sited distributed resources, especially distributed solar photovoltaics (PV). Federal regulation of public utilities by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is relatively Utilities’ responses to distributed generation have well‐understood, and therefore is not the focus of varied, ranging from financing projects outside of this article. the service territory to owning and operating distributed generation within the service territory. DRIVERS OF CHANGE Regardless of direction, utilities are faced with the Resources that have the potential to shift the utility need to rethink how distributed resources affect business model are generally appearing on the their approach to: real‐time operations; system customer side of the meter and providing utility planning; customer engagement; and strategy, customers with alternatives to supply their regulatory, financial, and stakeholder management. electricity needs that did not previously exist. In response, utilities should take proactive action to: Principal self‐supply energy resources include solar Renew the regulatory compact PV, combined heat and power (CHP), demand Market, test, or pilot
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